


Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace

by SailorGirl1319



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/M, Some Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-06
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2019-02-11 06:55:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 16,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12929898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorGirl1319/pseuds/SailorGirl1319
Summary: Six years, and they're finally reunited. Six years, and there is already an enemy on the ground.





	1. Chapter One

The situation wasn't ideal. Clarke was watching, from the tower, as the ship launched, leaving behind a trail of gray smoke. Not a minute after the ship launched, she saw the first bomb blow up, a chain reaction bound to occur.

Clarke shook off the despair at watching her friends leave for five years, scrambling down the satellite and running for her life, quite literally. The lab was in sight, and she could feel the heat of the bombs on her back. She pushed her legs harder, batting away branches and hoping she didn't trip. Finally, she reached the doors to the lab, pressing the button to open the door. As soon as she had stepped fully into the lab, which also functioned as a bunker, she closed the doors again, right as the waves of fire engulfed the outside. She sent a quiet thank you up to sky, grateful that her life was spared. Sure, she was a night blood, or at least should be. But she doubted that even her special blood could've saved her from the radioactive storm that was raging outside the lab. She could only hope that she had done her job right and that the ring was up and working. She looked at the technology left behind, spotting a dingy radio laying on the table.  _A radio._ Contacting the bunker, or even Bellamy and the others, might be a possibility. Of course, she'd have to wait until the storm stopped, or at least died down. She wasn't sure when that would be. For now, she'd be forced to survive off of what was left in the lab. 

Clarke peeled off the suit, no longer needing it in the sealed lab. It was when she peeled it off her back that she felt the welts, letting her know that she hadn't quite made it out of the storm unscathed. She winced at the sight of them, looking in a mirror at the extent of the welts. Her back was covered in them, and she was positive that they would take days, if not weeks to heal.  _On the bright side, at least I know my nightblood actually works._ Clarke thought, smiling at the thought despite herself. After inspecting the rest of her body for welts, she made her way around the lab carefully, taking inventory of the supplies she had available to her. It was then she came across the stash of non-perishables, and she sat down, taking each can and packet out and piling them. She filled her time with counting and sorting the food, having found a notepad in a drawer nearby. Then, she calculated how long she'd have to stay in the bunker before it was safe for her to step outside. She figured at least a year, so she rationed for two years. Luckily, she had plenty of food. After placing the organized food back into the cabinets where she found them, and taping the count and rationing up where she'd always see it, she moved on to the medical supplies. She could see nothing that would be of use to her immediately, and her mind drifted to the thought of preparing for when she did step outside. 

 _Surely no one else survived though. If anything I'd need weapons for animals._ She reasoned with herself. Still, she searched for guns, spears, anything that might be of use. Sure enough, in a concrete room she found a stash of rifles, but that wasn't what surprised her. The room seemed to be some sort of garage, the door tightly sealed glass, letting her see the destruction the storm was causing. The view also didn't surprise her, she could almost constantly see it from a window somewhere in the lab, or imagine it as it tore her home apart. It was the rover, sitting in the garage in perfect condition. She even turned it on, hearing the familiar purr of an engine, sure that Raven would appreciate it as much as she did at the moment. It'd be stuck there for the next year and a half, but Clarke was sure that it would be fine, as long as the glass door didn't shatter.  _If that happens, it doesn't matter. I'm dead anyways._ She grimaced at the morbid thought, shaking the thought outside. If the door was going to break, it'd be now. The storm was most likely at it's worst, as all you could see was the red-orange of the fire. She exited the room, searching for a room she could sleep in. She would sleep in the rover if worst came to worse, and at least she'd have protection. Not that she'd need it. Luckily, the lab also had a bedroom, with a king sized bed. Even before praimfaya, she hadn't ever slept in something that big. She sat down on the bed, surprised by it's plushness. Her exhaustion caught up to her, her eyelids drooping as she involuntarily dropped off to sleep. She jolted awake as soon as her back touched the mattress however, the welts flaring up in pain at the pressure exerted on them. She cursed quietly, climbing under the covers of the bed carefully and laying on her stomach, to prevent herself from rolling over onto her back. Finally, she let herself sleep.

* * *

 

_He left her behind. He left her._

It was the only thing he could think as the ship launched, and he gripped the straps with white knuckles. He had left her behind, left Clarke behind. Left her behind to die. Monty was looking at him with sadness, somehow  _knowing_ what he was thinking. Surely, all of them were thinking the same thing. Surely, they were all regretting leaving her behind. Bellamy looked over at Raven, who's face was twisted into one of pain and grief. She knows the implications of their actions. His actions, his hand pulling the lever down to shut the door, securing Clarke's fate. The thought only pulled him further into despair, solidifying his belief that he killed her. He could only imagine this was what it was like when she pulled that lever on them, when they killed 300 Trikru members, while he and Finn were out. Only, they ran from a fire that wouldn't consume the world. This fire wasn't something Clarke could run from. Not when it consumed the entire earth.  _I killed Clarke._ He thought painfully, leaning back and closing his eyes, trying to push the thought out. 

"I remember when we were first going to the ground." Murphy said, and Bellamy opened his eyes, grateful for the distraction conversation gave him. 

"Two people died." Bellamy said with a grunt.

"Two of 101." Miller said, sending a pointed glare at Bellamy. 

"Now look at us. Half of us are buried underground, six of us are going back up to space, and  _Clarke is dead._ " Bellamy snapped. He hadn't meant to bring her up. He didn't even want to, but it slipped out. 

"She's a night blood." Monty offered sadly, knowing the chances were slim.

"Nobody could survive that fire down there. Not even Wanheda and nightbloods." Echo said firmly. As much as Bellamy wanted to have hope that somehow his co-leader and best friend had survived, he knew the chances were one in a trillion. Even slimmer than that, if he was being honest with himself. If the radiation didn't kill her, surely the fire woud've killed her. 

"Enough. I don't want to talk about Clarke." Raven snapped finally. "I don't want to hear about the death I caused." 

"Raven, you didn't cause her death." Harper said, beating Bellamy to the punch. 

"If I hadn't radio'd for help, all of you would be in the bunker. Clarke would be safe. Bellamy would have both Clarke and Octavia." Raven pressed. 

"I pulled that lever down." Bellamy pointed out. "Besides, Clarke would've gone out for you if you weren't there with us." 

"It's what Clarke would've done." Monty agreed. "It's what made her such a great leader." Bellamy still couldn't get past the fact that they went from referring to what she is, to what she was.  _Past tense._ It made his heart break even further. 

"It's why I should've gone to the satellite and not her. She's a better leader." Bellamy said, causing protests to erupt from all of them. 

"Bellamy, she wouldn't have wanted that." Emori said. 

"You guys said she was a great leader." He mumbled. 

"We never said you weren't either." Miller supplied. "You're a great leader, Bellamy. You inspire others." Bellamy couldn't help but drift to the time when Clarke said that to him, back when it was just them and the others. When the only threat they faced was the grounders and not a homicidal A.I set to kill of the entire planet for the second time. 

"I always act based on my heart." He muttered, recalling Clarke's speech to him before she left to position the satellite. "She thought with her head and heart." 

"You can think with your head too. Your heart was clearly screaming at you when you closed the door." Murphy said, clearly trying to be helpful. 

"It was what she would've done." He mumbled, and he heard a collective sigh. "She bore it so we don't have to." He mumbled to himself, recalling her words after Mount Weather. It was always for her people. Her people before herself, and Bellamy wished she had let someone else reposition the satellite. 

"Clarke would be proud of you, you know." Raven said, offering him a smile. He couldn’t bring himself to return her smile, and the six of them fell into a silence the continued until the reached the Ring, when the communication was done only out of necessity. The conversation about Clarke had clearly gotten everyone, including Echo, Murphy and Emori, into a somber mood.  


	2. Chapter 2

The loneliness of the whole situation finally struck Clarke as she opened her eyes from sleeping. The complete silence, apart from the roar of fire present everywhere in the lab - a testament to the strength of the storm - made her upset, and angry at the same time. She was angry at A.L.I.E, for making something like this happen, for only warning them when they defeated her. She was upset that she wasn’t up there in space with the others, or down in the bunker with Octavia. She was upset that she was the only person that was on the Earth, who could roam around. Eventually, that is. She was upset that she couldn’t make it back to the ship in time, upset that she made Bellamy make the decision to close the door and launch without her. When the sadness and anger finally subsided, the loneliness finally seeped into her mind.

She went into the bathroom, gently pulling her shirt off to inspect the welts on her back. They were there, the red no longer quite as bright yesterday, apart from a few irritated patches. After pulling her shirt back on, she scavenged for a comb and toothbrush. Luckily, the bathroom had both, and was well stocked with toothpaste. At least I won’t have bad breath. She joked to herself, squeezing some of the substance onto the toothbrush and going through the daily morning routine she had developed over the years. Brush teeth, then floss, then brush hair, and maybe put it up in a braid, if her dad or Wells was available. The person who did her braid last was Bellamy, when they were simply talking by the fire. She looked up at the ceiling, wondering what he was doing. She pushed the thought away, replacing it with the thought that she had five years, at least, down here by herself. She busied herself with exploring the lab further, adding a tally to the day counter as she passed by it. She encountered an office, and she opened the drawers, letting out a small gasp as a plain book caught her eyesight, as well as a mason jar full of pencils. _Colored pencils_ , meaning the book was a sketchbook. She snatched it, flipping through the book, seeing it being completely empty. She plopped down on the chair, her hand hovering over the jar. Finally, she snatched a pencil and began drawing, attempting to capture his freckles and smirk perfectly. She tried her best at drawing his wild hair, and the glint in his eyes. When she was finished, she took a second to admire her work, and how stunningly accurate she had drawn Bellamy. She had gotten everything down to a pinpoint, every last freckle present on the drawn face. Along with the picture, she left a tiny note. Who we are, and who we need to be to survive, are two very different things. The quote was one that had always stuck with her, bringing her back to the early days. Then, she moved on to the next page. Her hands moved across the page as she drew Raven, and then Octavia, then Monty, then Miller, then Jasper, then Harper, then Emori, and then her mom. Clarke surprised herself when she found herself drawing Murphy, Echo, Roan, Lexa, Finn, Maya, Niylah, Kane and Lincoln. Having finished drawing, she leaned back in the chair, her hand still gripping the sketchbook like it was her lifeline.

Then, another book caught her eye. She picked it up, seeing it was lined. Taking a moment to think about it, before placing the pencil tip on paper and writing, despite the ache in her hand. She knew she had time to write what she was, but she didn’t want to lose the nerve to write.

_Day 2_

_You could say I’m surprised to still be alive. I mean, who would’ve thought I’d make it to the lab in the nick of time, spare a few aching welts on my back. The lab is a good place to be though, so I’m relatively happy. As happy as I could be knowing my best friend (that’s you Bellamy, if you ever get the chance to read this) is up in space thinking I’m dead, and my mom thinking I’m up in space with the others. The lab is filled with supplies. I have enough food that if I ration it correctly I can make it for two years cooped up in here, but I hope I’ll be able to leave the lab in a year. I found a sketchpad and colored pencils. I hope the office has charcoal somewhere. I started drawing everyone, and you guys can guess who I drew first. (Again, it’s you Bellamy. It’s always going to be you.) It’s really quiet apart from the constant sound of the firestorm outside the lab. Oh! I found lots of rifles and even a working rover in a garage. There’s a radio in here, but I figured the storm would block any signal. I’ll try it when I can walk outside, maybe try connecting it to the satellite and contact my space friends. (That’s you guys) Maybe I won’t go insane. I think you guys would be understanding though, I am alone in a nuked world where my friends are all unreachable. Sucks, I know. At least I’m not stuck up in space again, though I’d much rather be in space with you guys then down here alone and watching the world be burned down from the back of the rover. If I know Bellamy at all, he’s blaming himself for this. For launching without me, causing my death. And I know Raven is blaming herself for radioing us when she was hurt and killing me because of that. So, when you guys get down here, I want to make sure that you guys know it wasn’t your fault. Bellamy, you did everything I would’ve done. I’m so proud of you, Bell. Raven, you know I would’ve gone out there on my own if you weren’t there when the bunker doors were about to be closed. So stop blaming yourselves. I guess that’s it from me._

_Clarke Griffin_

 

Clarke stared at the paragraph she wrote neatly, before closing the book and setting both the sketchpad and what turned into a diary in a drawer, for tomorrow. She knew the book wouldn’t last her the years, but piled in a corner, conveniently, were more journals. And when her sketchbook ran out, she could draw on the ground and walls of the garage and the lab, if she found charcoal.

* * *

Raven had gotten the air working almost immediately, the Ring powering up. Clarke had been successful, and he sent a silent thank you to his best friend. Murphy and Emori immediately set up camp in an isolated room, as Bellamy stared at Earth, now consumed in orange. He didn’t even know where the drop site was, and where Arcadia was anymore. He pressed his hand against the glass, his breath fogging the glass.

“Staring at the earth isn’t going to bring her back.” Echo said, bringing Bellamy out of his thoughts.

“I’m aware.” Bellamy snapped, tearing his gazed away from the planet.

“It’s beautiful, in a strange way.”

“It’s more beautiful when it’s not covered in flames.” Bellamy retorted, wishing more than anything that Echo could see Earth in its true glory from space. He wished for that because that meant they could go home. He could get Octavia out of the bunker.

“That does not take away the beauty of this.” Bellamy softened, allowing himself to see the beauty that Echo saw. He, admittedly, agreed with Echo. He didn’t want to believe that seeing his home burning, with his family underneath it and his friend being killed by those flames, could be anything but horrible. He’d have to get used to seeing a flaming planet for awhile. Bellamy never responded to Echo, leaving the room shortly after her comment and finding Raven fiddling with what appeared to be a radio.

“What are you doing?” Bellamy asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Fixing the radio.” Raven replied, like it was obvious.

“Why?”

“Because maybe we can contact the bunker when the fires die down.” Raven snapped, irritated. _And maybe Clarke._ Bellamy thought for a second, before he repressed the thought. Clarke was dead, and radios couldn’t contact the deceased.

“Okay.” He said slowly, leaving her alone.


	3. Chapter Three

Clarke was _lonely._ Moreover, Clarke was simply bored. Being trapped in the lab was already developing into a monotonous routine, even after a month. She had already explored every nook and cranny there was, finding an abundance of charcoal near a fireplace. It was obviously meant to be used for a fire, but she thought drawing would be more useful - for her sanity. She had yet to fill her sketchpad, having to delve deep into her mind to recall people to draw, as she added to the faces in the book. She had added Charlotte, Wells (She didn’t know why he hadn’t appeared in the first batch of drawings), Dax, Atom, Sterling, Monroe, Roma, Miles, Connor, Indra, Queen Nia, Luna, Anya, Ontari, Sinclair, and even her dad and Jaha. She had written in her diary every day, sometimes keeping her entries short and sweet. Her hand closed around the book, her other reaching for the pencil. Opening to a new page, she began writing. 

 

_Day 32_

 

_It’s been a full month, and I’m already bored. I’ve added to the face sketches, I drew Wells and Charlotte today. My hands were shaking so bad I had to take a break. I’m still lonely, but that was expected. On the bright side, the fires have died down a bit. It’s not as loud now, which makes it even quieter. Sometimes, I entertain myself with the daydream of you guys talking with me. (I hope this doesn’t mean I’m going crazy) I haven’t physically seen any of you guys in the lab yet, so no hallucinations yet. Fingers crossed that I don’t go insane. Wish me luck from up in space, will you? Sometimes I wish I could send mail up to you guys. Impossible, even before praimfaya. I miss you guys._

_Clarke_

She placed the book back in it’s respectful drawer, shutting it and leaning back in the chair again. Letting out a sigh, she pushed herself out of the sigh and made her way to the garage, looking out the large window. The fire had definitely died down, as ground in front of the door was now visible, gray and covered in soot. Grabbing a rifle, she made her way over to a room with no windows, and a mattress propped up against the wall, bullet holes covering the entire thing, and a makeshift bullseye constructed out of sheets handing in front of it. She let out one last sigh before bringing the gun up to shooting position, aiming, and pulling the trigger. The resounding bang and reassuring sound of a soft thump met Clarke’s ears, and she looked at the mattress. _Bullseye._ She let herself grin at the achievement, before aiming again and again. She limited herself to twenty shots a day, to preserve the ammo, though it was plentiful. She had to conserve it. She placed the gun back into it’s original place, before hoisting herself up onto the back of the rover and watching the fire rage on a few feet from the door. 

 

The majority of her day was spent like this, or covering the walls and ground with drawings of the earth before praimfaya, or of her friends. She had even taken the time to draw a full body picture of Bellamy on the wall, standing by the rifles, with a smile lighting up his face, even as a gun was slung across his shoulder. She had drawn Raven near the table of tools in the garage, hair pulled up and tools in hand. Monty was by the computers, and Jasper was next to him, signature goggles on his forehead. Miller was with Bellamy by the guns, and Murphy and Emori were secluded in another room, as they were often by themselves. Harper was by the medicine, seeing as apart from Clarke, she was the one out of the 7 who had medical knowledge. Octavia was also by Bellamy, sword in hand. In a way, it made her less lonely, but some days it made her even sadder, a constant reminder that they weren’t here beside her. She didn’t have Bellamy to rant to, to lead with. She had considered adding others, but decided against it, leaving it to the core group. Somedays she felt the urge to run her hand against the drawings, but she restrained herself, as it would smear the drawings and ruin their features that she had captured perfectly. She knew that one day, when they came down, she’d show them if the drawings survived. She’d hand Bellamy the sketchbook and journals, before running off and hiding. She imagined he’d come find her afterwards, maybe even wrap her in a hug. Clarke repressed the daydream, not wanting to allow herself to think about the future, when she had to worry about the present. Sure, she was bored and had five years to do the things she needed to do, but the thoughts would just make her more upset. 

 

——-

Bellamy caught himself looking at the Earth again, his thoughts wandering to what his sister was doing underground, leading the 1200 people in the bunker as Commander. His heart filled with pride at the thought her her leading people, taking charge. Raven walked up next to him, offering him a smile. He returned the smile, turning to face the mechanic. 

 

“What do you think they’re doing down in the bunker?” Bellamy asked, as Raven let out a sigh. 

 

“Probably wondering what we’re doing up here.” Raven said with a chuckle. “Figuring out food.” She added, glancing at Bellamy. 

 

“Hopefully they’re not living off of algae.” 

 

“Hopefully.” She agreed, as the others joined them in the room. Monty placed a cup in his hand, and Bellamy glanced down to see it was filled with his moonshine. 

 

“Jasper and I made it out of the algae.” Monty explained. “It’s pretty strong.” Bellamy shook his head at the pair, of course they’d figure out the alcohol situation first. He handed his cup back, not wanting to get drunk. 

 

“I’ll pass. Someone has to keep an eye on you lot.” Bellamy joked, as Murphy rolled his eyes and downed Bellamy’s drink after snatching it from Monty. 

 

“You need to relax.” Harper pressed, crossing her arms. 

 

“I’m relaxed.” Bellamy protested. “I don’t see why I need to drink to relax anyways.” 

 

“Come on, drink with us.” Jasper whined. Bellamy shook his head, his decision already made, and he wasn’t going to back down. 

 

“Bellamy.” Raven said, giving him a pointed look.

 

“No, Raven. I don’t want to drink.” Bellamy said, crossing his arms over his chest. 

 

“Alright.” She said after a moment. 

 

An hour after, all of them except for Bellamy were drunk out of their minds, drunkenly admiring the orange earth. 

 

“Bellamy, look!” Raven slurred, pointing haphazardly at the window. “It’s _orange. The earth is orange!_ ” 

  
“Yes, Raven. The earth is orange.” Bellamy half-heartedly agreed for the millionth time.

“It’s beautiful.” Echo said, hand against the glass. “Like Clarke was.” Her drunk self added. Almost immediately, the mood darkened, as even in their drunken state they knew that Clarke was dead, that she was their friend. 

 

“Clarke was even more beautiful than this.” Bellamy countered, believing every word of it. 

 

“That she was.” Monty agreed, downing the last few sips of his drink. 


	4. Chapter Four

Clarke looked out the window, at the now barren land. The fires had gone out two months ago, but she decided against going out there right away. She glanced over at the drawings on the wall of the garage, at Bellamy smiling like an idiot, Octavia with a fierce scowl as her sword rested by her legs. Letting out a long sigh, she hopped off of the rover’s back and grabbed a rifle, slinging the strap over her neck and shoulder. Then, she went to the front door of the lab and jabbed her elbow into the button to open the door, bracing herself for the radiation. When she felt none, she took a hesitant step out onto the soot covered ground, before taking another. Then, when she was out of the vicinity of the bunker, she let out a shout, happy that she was no longer stuck. After seeing the satellite still standing tall, she hurried inside and grabbed the dingy radio and some cords she had found during the year in the lab. Afterwards, she trekked back towards the satellite, her eyes watching for any sign of life that had appeared in the two months since the fires went out. She saw no movement other than the rustling of the leaves in the slight breeze that had appeared, not that she was expecting anything else. 

 

Clarke slung the radio’s strap over her shoulders and neck, positioning it on her back, over the rifle. Then, she wrapped her hands around the metal rungs of the ladder, placed one foot on a rung, and lifted herself off the ground. She continued to climb, taking short breaks on the way up to survey the land. Once she reached the top, she allowed herself more time to rest, leaning back on the support for the satellite. 

 

“I really hope this works.” Clarke said to no one, face pointed up at the sky. With that, she pushed herself off the ground and found the control panel for the satellite, opening it. Then, she connected the radio in what seemed to be the correct way, and sent another prayer up to whoever was watching over her.

* * *

 

Raven sat in the dining hall by herself, the radio sitting on the table beside her as she flipped through a book she found on radios and transmitting between the distance they had to cover. So far, they needed a satellite, making transmissions impossible. They could, however receive transmissions. Static coming from the radio jolted her out of her thoughts, and she gathered the radio in her arms, running over to Bellamy’s room. 

 

“Bell!” She said, nearly tripping over her feet. Bellamy glanced at her as she dumped the radio on the table, waiting for the static again. Then, it happened again, and Bellamy went quiet. 

 

“Damn it.” An all too familiar voice said, coming from the speaker. “Wait! I got it!” Bellamy could hear the smile that was on her face, which brought a large grin onto his. 

 

“Can we transmit?” Bellamy asked rapidly. 

 

“We could try.” Raven said, grabbing the microphone. She brought it to her mouth, ready to speak. Then, she handed the microphone to Bellamy, deciding he should be the one to try. When he spoke, he got no response. But a minute later, Clarke’s voice appeared again, and Raven ran to get the others. Soon enough, they were all listening to Clarke. 

 

“I have no idea if this is working.” Clarke said, pausing. “But if it is, and you guys up there can hear me, then hi.” Bellamy was staring at the radio, and looked close to tears. 

 

“Figures that she survived.” Murphy said with a grunt, wrapping his arm around Emori’s waist and pulling her closer. 

 

“It’s been a full year since you guys launched. The fires lasted 10 months and left the ground covered in ash and soot. The satellite survived surprisingly. It’s really lonely down here. I’ve been keeping a journal everyday though. I’ll add this too. Gives me an excuse to talk. I really hope you guys are doing well. And Bellamy, if you’re listening to this, I want to tell you something.” She paused, and Bellamy waited patiently for her to continue. “I’m so proud of you. I’m so proud of you for thinking with your head when you pulled that lever, for being the head and the heart. And Raven…If I know you at all you’re blaming yourself for getting me into this situation.” Clarke wasn’t wrong, Raven had begun to blame herself again after hearing Clarke’s voice. “Don’t. If you weren’t there when the bunker doors had to be closed I would’ve gone out in search for you anyways, and you know the others would’ve too.” Clarke began to recount how she managed to survive, everyone listening closely to every word. Bellamy let out a laugh when she said that she was constantly hitting bullseyes when practicing shooting now, and had moved on to throwing spears. She’d even work on driving now that she could go outside. 

“I promise not to ram the rover into a tree.” She teased, before going silent. “That’s all really. Tomorrow, Bellamy. Same time. Help keep me sane, will you?” Clarke ended, and the radio went silent. 

 

“Always.” Bellamy said, closing his eyes and trying to memorize the lilt of her voice as she talked. Raven wrapped her arms around him, as Monty stared at the radio, still in shock. 

 

“Do you think we could rig it so we didn’t need a satellite to transmit?” Monty said suddenly. 

 

“Maybe.” Raven said, shrugging. “It’d probably take awhile. And we’d probably have to take apart the radio, and we wouldn’t get Clarke’s message.” 

 

“It’s not like she’d know though.” Murphy said. “I’m sure she’d be understanding if we actually managed to communicate with her that we missed her broadcast.” Echo and Emori nodded in agreement, but Bellamy shook his head. 

 

“Raven, how long until you can get the ship ready for us to go down?” Bellamy asked. 

 

“It’d take the full five years, with the condition we need it to be in. We need to figure out fuel too.” Raven answered easily. 

 

“That’s the priority right now. We need everybody on deck helping with that. I’d love to be able to talk with Clarke, but I’d much rather be by her side as soon as possible.” They all nodded in understanding, though Raven, Monty and Jasper looked disappointed in his decision.

 

“Head and heart.” Raven said suddenly, nodding. With that, they all got to work. 


	5. Chapter Five

Clarke was driving around in the rover, having gotten good at driving it, when she saw the movement. She slammed on the brakes, hand going to the rifle slung across her torso as she opened the door and stepped out. The bush moved again, and Clarke saw two eyes peeking out from behind it. They appeared to belong to a human, causing Clarke to let out a gasp. _A human. She wasn’t alone._ Deciding that speaking Trigedasleng was the best option, Clarke racked her brain for the appropriate words.

 

“Heya.” Clarke tested out, and the eyes of the person lit up in recognition. “Ai laik Klark.” Slowly making her way closer, she waited for a response. “Chon yu bilaik?” She questioned, lowering herself to the eye level of the mysterious person.

 

“Ai laik Madi.” The person finally responded, sounding astonishingly young. 

 

“Em ste okay.” Clarke slowly eased the young girl out from behind the bush, still timid. “Dina?” Madi nodded rapidly, eyes lighting up. Clarke motioned for her to follow, and she hesitantly followed. Luckily, Clarke had brought extra food, so she handed a meal to Madi, who devoured it. 

 

“mochof.” Madi said grateful. Clarke conversed with broken Trigedasleng, when Madi asked Clarke to teach her English. Clarke nodded with a grin, and the pair of them went back to the bunker. Clarke showed her around, explaining slowly what each room was for. She explained that the rifles were off limits until she was older, and that she shouldn’t touch the drawings on the wall. When they reached the garage, and Clarke was describing what she liked to do in that room, Madi was admiring the drawing of Bellamy, before looking at Clarke and pointing. 

 

“That’s Bellamy.” Clarke said, giving her a tight smile. 

 

“Belomi?” She repeated, and Clarke giggled at the familiar sound of Bellamy’s name being said with the grounder’s accent. 

 

“Bell- _amy.”_ Clarke emphasized. 

 

“Bell _amy._ ” Madi repeated dutifully. Madi then pointed at Octavia, her eyes landing on the sword in Octavia’s hand.

 

“That’s Octavia. Bellamy’s sister.” 

 

“Octavia kom Skaikru?” Madi asked, clearly familiar with her. “Heda Octavia?” 

 

“Yes. Bellamy is her brother.”Madi was a fast learner, having picked up on a few words already. Madi then pointed at Miller, and Clarke went around ‘introducing’ her to her friends. Clarke thenshowed her the sketches of the others.

 

“Sketch me?” She said, pausing after each word. Clarke nodded, sitting down as she sat herself on the desk. Madi was still as she drew her, which surprised her. After she finished, Clarke showed her the sketch and she grinned at her, before noticing the open journal. She grabbed it, flipping to the first page. Clarke smiled when she looked at her for permission, and she began reading. 

 

She must’ve felt comfortable around Clarke, since two minutes after she began scanning, Madi climbed into Clarke’s lap to point at a word. Clarke translated it, and when Madi reached the end, Clarke began to write the new entry, explaining what she was writing to Madi. The whole process took around three hours, if Clarke could keep track of time correctly.

 

_Day 437_

 

_I’m not alone anymore! I was driving around in the rover when I found Madi. We’re a duo now. I told her all about you guys. She’s 5, and she’s a little night blood that was hidden in one of the old bunkers and had managed to get herself out once the fires had died down. She’s so tough. She’s a really fast learner too, she’s picking up English really well. I think you guys will love her. I think I’ll take her to the satellite tomorrow._

 

_Clarke_

 

Madi curled up against Clarke, eyes closing in exhaustion. Clarke was exhausted herself, so she nudged Madi awake and led her to the bedroom, where the pair curled up under the covers. Madi curled into Clarke’s side, as Clarke wrapped an arm around her small frame protectively. 

 

When Clarke woke up, Madi was still curled into her side, breathing even. Clarke shifted slightly, the motion waking her up. Madi looked up at her with wide eyes, and Clarke smiled down at her. After getting up and ready, as well as getting Madi ready, Clarke lead Madi out to the rover, driving the pair of them to the satellite. Clarke looked up at the platform, before looking at Madi. Madi, somehow understanding what the problem was, lifted her arms up in the air.

 

“Back…..” Madi said, searching for the right word. “Ride?” She tried. Clarke laughed, nodding before crouching down. Madi wrapped her arms around her neck, and her legs around Clarke’s waist. Clarke stood up, Madi adjusting herself accordingly. _She’s a smart kid._ Clarke thought to herself, before climbing up the tower. It was harder with a kid on her back, but she made it. Afterwards, she sat down and leaned back against the satellite, grinning. Madi copied her, still glued to her side. 

* * *

“Bellamy!” Raven said, and Bellamy looked up from what he was doing. He wrote a weekly journal, recounting what happened each week. He was in the middle or writing when Raven placed the radio on top of the paper.

 

“What?” Bellamy said, sighing. 

 

“Bellamy, you’d never guess what happened yesterday.” Clarke’s voice came through the radio, and Bellamy lit up. She hadn’t transmitted yesterday, and he was worried. 

 

“What, princess?” Bellamy said, and Raven chuckled before leaving the room. 

 

“I found a girl.” She said, sounding breathless. “Her name is Madi.” Bellamy’s eyes widened at the announcement, yelling for Raven and the others. 

 

“What?” Raven said, panicked. 

 

“She’s not alone!” Bellamy said happily. 

 

“She’s really smart, Bellamy. I’ve been teaching her English and she’s picking it up really fast even though it’s only been a day since I found her. She’s a little warrior.” She paused, another voice barely audible. 

 

“Warrior?” The voice asked. 

 

“gona.” Clarke translated for who Bellamy assumed to be Madi. 

 

“Talk to Bellamy?” Bellamy assumed she nodded, because a small voice came through the radio.

 

“Hi Bell _amy_.” Madi greeted. “And Ra _ven.”_ She added, pausing. “Hi Mur _phy._ Hi Emori. Hi Echo. Hi M _on_ ty. Hi _Jas_ per. Hi _Har_ per.” She continued, pausing when she had trouble pronouncing their names. “I’m Madi.” They were all smiling by now, because Madi sounded adorable. “Klark says you guys would….. hodness?……me.” 

 

“love.” Clarke supplied.

 

“Klark said you guys would love me.” Madi repeated. 

 

“I told you she picked up English fast.” Clarke said into the radio, and Bellamy laughed. 


	6. Chapter Six

The lessons went well, Madi fluent in English a month after Clarke found her. They had grown into a little family, both worried about the others wellbeing. Madi loved the lessons she was getting in sketching, ones she had asked for once she mastered English.

 

“Clarke!” Madi said frantically, and Clarke rushed to her side, trying to see what Madi saw. 

  
“What?” Clarke asked. 

 

“I saw an animal.” She said excitedly. She pointed at the barren bush, which shifted slightly. Clarke let out a gasp as she saw the mutated squirrel, wrapping an arm around Madi’s shoulders. 

 

“Nice find.” Clarke complimented, and Madi blushed.

 

“Are we going to talk to Bellamy today?” 

 

“We always talk to Bellamy.” Clarke confirmed. “But I have you, and that’s all I really need.” She added, though she didn’t believe it herself. She still needed Bellamy, but she wouldn’t have him by her side for another three years. 

 

“You always say you need him on the radio though.” Madi pointed out, raising her eyebrows. “I’d like to think that if I was that close with someone I’d need them, even if I wouldn’t see them for a few years.” 

 

“Yeah? Well Bellamy and I didn’t always get along.” Clarke said, smiling.

 

“Tell me a story with him in it.” Madi demanded. Clarke laughed at the demand, ruffling Madi’s hair. 

 

“I’ll tell you at the satellite.” Clarke said, climbing into the rover. Madi climbed into the passenger seat, and Clarke drove the pair to the satellite, where they both climbed up the ladder. 

 

“Story time.” Madi demanded, hand pressing down the transmitting button. 

 

“Alright, alright, Madi.” Clarke said, laughing. “It was before the others in space came down, when it was just the 100 of us.” She began, recalling the familiar memory easily. “We had secured communication with the Ark, so Bellamy and I were out looking for a bunker filled with supplies. We found it, but we didn’t know a person, Dax, was following us. We found barrels of rifles and ammo in there, so Bellamy started teaching me how to shoot. We got into an argument, because we still didn’t like each other that much at that point. Bellamy left to clear his head, and that’s when the hallucinations started from eating jobi nuts. I started to see my dad, who was floated up on the ark.” Clarke paused, and Madi waited patiently. “He gave me advice and comforted me, before I got knocked out by Dax, who was looking for Bellamy. Bellamy told me what he saw a little while after. His hallucination was Jaha, condemning him of his crime of shooting him. A bunch of Jaha’s appeared and started beating him up, when he broke out of the hallucination to find Dax pointing a gun at him. Bellamy disarmed him luckily, and they were wrestling for awhile before Dax got the upper hand. I had woken up, and I tackled him off of Bellamy. I was out of it, so Bellamy was pinned again. But Bellamy saw a piece of metal and killed Dax with it.” Madi let out a gasp, hand reaching for Clarke’s. Clarke took it, gently squeezing it. “It was Bellamy or Dax at that point.” Clarke assured Madi. Madi nodded, curling into Clarke’s side before waiting for her to continue. “Bellamy confessed that he thought he was a monster, that he was better off leaving. He had packed extra rations to run too. It was the first time he was vulnerable with me.” 

 

“What did you say to him?” Madi said. 

 

“You’re okay.”

 

“What did he say?”

 

“He said ‘No I’m not. My mother…If she knew what I’ve done, who I am-she raised me to be better, to be good.’”

 

“What?!?” 

 

“I tried interrupting him, be he continued. He said ‘and all I do is hurt people. I’m a monster.’”

 

“Then what?” Madi said, looking at Clarke.

 

“I said that he saved my life. I said that he might be a total ass half the time, but that I needed him. That we needed him. That none of us would’ve survived earth if it wasn’t for him.I said that if he wanted forgiveness, he was given forgiveness. I said he couldn’t run, and that he had to come back with me. I said he had to face it.” Clarke paused, taking a deep breath. “He accused me of not doing what I was telling him to do, by not facing my mom.”

 

“What did you say after that?” 

 

“I said he was right. I said that I didn’t want to face my mom, or any of it. I said that all I think about everyday is how we were going to keep everyone alive, and how we didn’t have a choice. He still said that Jaha would kill him when he comes down, but I said we’d figure something out. Whenever he’s ready. ”

 

“Did you? Did you?” She asked excitedly. 

 

“Obviously, he’s still alive.” Clarke teased, laughing. 

 

“What?” 

 

“We got Jaha to pardon him. In exchange for information on who wanted him dead.” Clarke replied. 

 

“That’s good.” Madi declared, taking her thumb of the button. 

——

Bellamy sat listening to Clarke retell a story from the ground to Madi, sitting next to the others. She had began transmitting during breakfast, the one time all of them were together. Monty laughed, remembering the events of that day.

 

“It wasn’t funny for me.” Jasper protested. “I was seeing grounders.” 

 

“Connor wanted to be the most beautiful broom in a closet of brooms.” Raven said, laughing. 

 

“Okay, I wanted to go look for the moon and ate a pinecone.” Monty supplied. “Because it _told_ me to.” 

“I was just out of it.” Miller said with a shrug. 

 

“Yeah well I was facing everything I didn’t want to face.” Bellamy interrupted. “And then almost killed.” 

 

“Way to ruin the mood, Bell.” Raven said, laughing. 

 

“It’s what I do.” He joked, and the others laughed. 

 

“Anyways,” Clarke’s voice appeared again on the radio, and they all went quiet to hear what she had to say. “I really hope you enjoyed that retelling up there. Madi saw an squirrel today too. It’s the first sign of life we’ve had in the past two years.” Clarke paused, a murmured conversation happening. “Madi’s learning how to shoot, throw a spear, sword fight and sketch. She’s going to be quite the warrior when you guys get down. I’ve got to go now, I have to write my journal, but I’ll talk to you guys tomorrow, unless something gets in the way. I can see a patch of green in the distance, so we might go check that out tomorrow. I really wish I didn’t have to be at the satellite for this to work. If it even is working. Bye, Bellamy.” 

———-

_Day 754_

_We saw an animal today, a mutated squirrel. Madi spotted it. I told her the story of what happen when we went to the depot to search for supplies. We saw a green patch when we were up there, so we’ll go explore that eventually._

_Clarke_


	7. Chapter Seven

The green patch was growing, and the trees had leaves. Clarke and Madi saw more animals in the green patch, leading them to believe the squirrel somehow wandered off. Clarke had been sure to inform Bellamy of what she was doing, and why she would be away from the radio for a few days. Madi gripped Clarke’s hand, scanning the land around them.

 

“Clarke can you tell me another story.” Madi asked.

 

“About what?” Clarke asked, sitting down on the ground.

 

“The normal thing.” Madi said. 

 

“I’m running out of Bellamy stories, Madi.” Clarke said with a chuckle. 

 

“But you haven’t run out yet.” She retorted. 

 

“No, I haven’t.” 

 

“So tell me the story.” Madi demanded. 

 

“Have I told you the Mount Weather one?” 

 

“No.” 

 

“Alright. So after we burned 300 grounders to death.” Madi looked at me in shock. “We were at war. So basically once we were sure there wasn’t any left we exited, only to be captured by who we called the Mountain Men. They survived the first nuclear apocalypse underground in Mount Weather. It was pretty much paradise on the outside, but I was suspicious from the start. I found Anya, the commander of the Trikru, in a room in a cage. They took blood from the grounders.” 

 

“I thought this was a Bellamy story.” Madi interrupted. 

 

“It is. So basically I allied with her to get out, and we ran away from the men who were chasing us. We arrived at Camp Jaha, and guards shot Anya, but knocked me out. They thought I was a hostile grounder. I was treated by my mom, but as soon as I could I ran to a person. ” 

 

“Bellamy?” Madi guessed. 

 

“I ran right up to him and hugged him. He hesitated but he hugged me right back. And together, we defeated the mountain. He didn’t let me pull the lever alone. And afterwards, I left. For three months before I was captured, and he tried to save me.” Clarke finished, and Madi grinned at the end. 

 

“I know I say this after every Bellamy story, but he sounds amazing.” Madi declared. 

 

“Bell is amazing.” 

 

“Bell?” 

 

“His nickname. He would adore you, you know. Everybody would. You’d be the most spoiled kid ever.” 

 

“They’re coming back down in two and a half years, right?” Madi asked.

 

“That’s the plan. It might take longer though.” 

 

“I hope it doesn’t. For you.” Madi said, nestling into her side. 

 

“Me too. I want you to meet them in person.” 

 

“Clarke, do you love Bellamy?” Madi asked suddenly, and Clarke stiffened at the question. 

 

“I love him in a best friend kind of way.” Clarke answered. 

 

“That’s not what I meant.”

 

“I know. I guess I don’t want to confront what I think of Bellamy when he’s not here. He’s thousands of miles away, and I don’t want to confront the fact that _I do love him_. I don’t want to feel like I need him even more than I already do, when I won’t have him for another few years at best. I guess I just _did_ confront it.” 

 

“I think you should tell him on the radio. Just to confront it head on.” Madi said.

“You’re really smart for a 9 year old, you know?” Clarke teased.

 

“You’ve been teaching me for the past year and a half.” She replied back easily. 

 

“Still doesn’t change the fact that you act like an adult at 9.” Madi shrugged, and Clarke rested her head on Madi’s, 

—-

Bellamy jolted upright at the static of the radio, not expecting to hear from Clarke for another few days. 

 

“Bellamy, if you’re listening to this, I have a confession to make.” Clarke said, sounding nervous even through the radio. “I love you.” 

 

Bellamy nearly fell out of his chair at her words, eyes wide. 

 

“I didn’t want to admit it to myself at first. Madi and I were at the green patch, and I told her the Mount Weather story, and she asked if I loved you. I told her that I did, that I did love you, but didn’t want to confront it. Didn’t want to confront it with the amount of time we have to wait to see each other again. You know what she said to me after that? The 9 year old said I should tell you and confront it head on. Madi’s so smart, acts older than she is. I’ve told you this so many times, but you’d adore her. Maybe even more than I do. Anyways, yeah. I love you. I won’t see you for a few years.”The transmission ended after that, and Bellamy stared at the radio. 

 

“Bellamy.” Raven said, waving her hand in front of Bellamy’s face. “ _Bellamy._ ”Raven repeated. 

 

“ _She loves me._ ” Bellamy said in response. “Raven, she loves me.” 

 

“Of course she loves you.” Raven replied, as if it was obvious. “You were just too oblivious to notice it.” 

 

“Clarke loves me.” He repeated again, still in disbelief. 

 

“We’ve established that.” Murphy said with a grunt, appearing in the doorway. 

————

_Day 890_

_So I just confessed that I’m in love with my best friend - to my best friend (who may or may not have been able to hear it) but all the same. I love you, Bellamy Blake. I told the Mount Weather story to her today, which is what prompted the confession. We visited the green area, but Madi pushed to come back early just for the confession she urged out of me. I really love that kid. It’s hard not to, considering she’s the only human who I can talk to who actually responds. For awhile I tried to convince myself that I didn’t need anything-or anyone- other than her. Clearly that failed, considering I need Bellamy even more now. I guess I don’t need him more, but I do feel the absence of him more. Madi is off drawing him right now, basing it off the sketch I did. She said she’d show me when she was done. I think she might draw Octavia next. If she doesn’t as for a Bellamy story, she asks for an Octavia story. I do my best with them, but I always say Bellamy would be the better person to ask. Or even Octavia herself. She doesn’t like to wait for some of them though, so I’m left to describe everything. We’re fairly close to the green area, so I don’t think we’ll leave the lab. Besides, I don’t think I have the heart to, even after being cooped up in it for a year. It’s home now, with all the sketches on the walls. It doesn’t feel like a prison like my sky block did though. Anyways, Madi’s calling for me._

_Clarke_


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a reunion guys

“Clarke!” Madi said, pointing up at the sky. It had been six years since Clarke’s friends had departed, and three since she confronted her feelings for Bellamy. The two of them had filled the walls of the lab, and she was on the last journal that was stashed in the office. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do if she ran out of space to write her daily entry. 

 

Clarke looked up at the ship, clearly not part of the Eligius corporation, who had sent down a group of prisoners who immediately distrusted Clarke and Madi. The group reminded Clarke of them when they first arrived, confused and scared. They had set up camp across the green spot, and she could see them milling around through the scope of her rifle. 

 

“Bellamy.” Clarke whispered, and Madi gripped her hand as the ship came to a landing. As soon as the door opened, Clarke was pulling Madi towards the nine friends. When she saw Bellamy, she dropped Madi’s hand and launched herself into his arms, causing him to stumble backwards as he wrapped his arms tightly around her torso, burying his face into her neck. 

 

“Hey. Share Clarke.” Raven said, and Bellamy was ready to let go of her, but Clarke didn’t unwind her arms from around Bellamy’s neck. 

 

“ _Clarke. Bellamy’s not the only person back._ ” Murphy said, crossing his arms over his chest. “And besides, you need to formally introduce us to Madi.” The mention of Madi, who had become an adoptive daughter to Clarke, was what got Clarke to release Bellamy. 

 

“You know about Madi?” Clarke said, clearly surprised.   


“We got your transmissions.” Bellamy said, and Clarke let out a small gasp. She opened her mouth, about to speak, when Raven pulled her into a hug, and Clarke laughed, _laughed_ , and hugged her back. Clarke hugged Jasper, Monty, Harper and Miller. Surprisingly, Murphy was the one to pull her into a hug, which she reciprocated rapidly. 

 

“Missed you too, Murphy.” Clarke said. 

 

“Six years does things to you.” Murphy said when everybody was looking at him. 

 

“Clearly.” Raven said with a snort. 

 

“Anyways. Everybody, this is Madi.” Clarke said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “She’s my little warrior.” 

 

“And Clarke’s my warrior mom.” Madi declared happily. Clarke looked down fondly at Madi, surprised by Madi calling her mom. “What? You took care of me like a mom takes care of her kid. And since my mom isn’t alive anymore, I couldn’t think of a better person to be a new one.” She said sweetly, and Clarke pulled her into a hug. 

 

“Now, how about you show us the lab?” Monty said, and Clarke nodded. She took Madi’s hand, walking towards the lab entrance. Bellamy jogged to catch up, intertwining their fingers. Clarke squeezed his hand, as Madi pressed the button to open the doors. 

 

The sight of the drawings covering the floor and the walls amazed all of them. Madi was excitedly pointing out the ones she drew, dragging Raven around the lab. Clarke took the opportunity to tug Bellamy into what appeared to be an office, where piles of books were neatly stacked, with one laying open, revealing a page full of writing. Clarke sat down, turning to a new page. 

 

_Day 2366_

 

_They came home finally._

 

_Clarke Griffin_

 

Bellamy rested his head on her shoulder, taking the pencil out of her hand and signing his name right next to hers. 

 

“The books are all filled with the entries. If you want to read them.” Clarke whispered. 

 

“Right now, all I want to do is hug you and never let you leave my sight.” Bellamy declared, and Clarke laughed. 

 

“That can be arranged.” Madi came barging into the room. “But I think you might have to tell Madi a story first.” 

“I want an Octavia story from Bell!” Madi declared. Bellamy tensed at the use of his nickname, but Clarke squeezed his hand. 

 

“I used your nickname in front of her, and told her it was a nickname.” Clarke assured him, and he smiled. 

 

“Of course.” Bellamy said. Madi, despite being 12, climbed into Clarke’s lap and curled into her. Clarke wrapped her arms around Madi, resting her chin on the top of her head as Bellamy began the story. Madi fell asleep midway through the story, so Bellamy and Clarke began to catch up on everything, the others joining them. 

 

“If we are ever on this earth long enough to actually form cities, these are going into a museum.” Raven declared, pointing at the journals. “And this lab will turn into a museum with all your drawings.” She added.

 

“You guys can read the journals, you know. Especially the ones from the first year that I couldn’t transmit. I never missed a day with the journals.” They all nodded in confirmation, the room going silent.

 

“Have you been to Polis?” Bellamy asked, curious about his sister. 

 

“Yeah. It’s in good condition, but we’d have to do some cleaning to find the door.” Clarke replied. “We can go tomorrow, if you want.” Bellamy looked at the others, who all nodding in agreement. 

 

“Tomorrow it is. I can drive.” Bellamy declared.

 

“Nope. I’m driving. I’ve been driving the thing for five years now, Bellamy. I think I’m a better driver than you, considering you’ve been in space with no cars for six years.” Clarke teased, as Madi shifted in her sleep. 

 

They all yawned, and Clarke shooed them into different rooms, before scooping Madi up and bringing her to another room. When Clarke pushed the door open, Bellamy let out a small gasp. 

 

“Madi drew them all.” Clarke said, placing the girl on the small bed and pulling the covers over her. The walls were littered with scenes from stories that Clarke must’ve told her, drawn in the way Madi imagined them playing out. Bellamy saw the night under the tree, after Dax tried to kill him. He saw the hug that Clarke gave him after Mount Weather, and their hands both on the lever to cut off the air supply. He saw him gripping her wrist as she fell down the grounder trap, and him holding a radio to his mouth in a Mount Weather guards uniform. 

 

“I helped her with the details of everything, but she drew everything. I just told her what they looked like.” Clarke clarified. She grabbed his hand, pulling him into her room. Her walls were covered in drawings of everyone she couldn’t see for six years, covered in quotes she must’ve remembered. 

 

“Clarke.” Bellamy said, at a loss for words. 

 

“I started drawing the day after you guys left.” Clarke said. “I have a book full of sketches, and I drew you first.” Bellamy was still at a loss for words, so instead, he pulled her into his arms. Clarke pulled away, only to press her lips against his, in a long-awaited kiss. 

 

“I love you.” Bellamy murmured against her lips, bringing a smile to hers. 

 

“I love you more.” Clarke murmured in reply. A yawn escaped Bellamy’s lips, and Clarke grinned. “Bed time.” She said, pulling him down onto the bed. Bellamy wrapped his arms around Clarke’s waist, pulling her as close to him as possible. Clarke let her hand rest on Bellamy’s, who intertwined them, as he pressed a kiss to the back of Clarke’s neck. 

 

“Did I tell you how much I love your new hair?” Bellamy whispered, and Clarke laughed quietly. 

 

“No. Go to bed, Bell. We have a long day tomorrow.” Clarke said, rolling her eyes even though Bellamy couldn’t see her. 

 

“Goodnight, Clarke. I love you.” Bellamy said, pressing another kiss to the nape of her neck. 

 

“Goodnight, Bell. I love you more.” 

 

It was safe to say that it was the best sleep both of them got since before they were separated. 


	9. Chapter Nine

Clarke opened her eyes, about to move when she felt the warm breath fan out against her neck, and the weight of an arm draped across her waist. She settled into bed again, content to just lay in Bellamy’s arms until he woke up. Of course, Madi came bursting through the door soon after, with Raven scrambling after her. 

 

“I’m sorry I tried to tell her to leave you guys alone.” Raven apologized. 

 

“You said we could go to the bunker today, mom!” Madi said, ignoring Raven. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!” Madi was hopping up and down, and Clarke laughed. 

 

“Go get packed, yeah? We’ll be there for awhile.” Clarke said, and Madi ran out of the room. Raven winked at Clarke before leaving the room, leaving the door open a crack. Clarke flipped herself over, looking at Bellamy’s sleeping face, who had managed to sleep through Madi’s excitement. She pressed a kiss to his cheek, watching as he opened his eyes. 

 

“I still can’t believe you’re here.” Bellamy whispered, his eyes never leaving Clarke’s face. 

 

“Are you kidding me? You heard me most days. I can’t believe your finally down here.” Clarke teased. “Anyways, we’re heading to the bunker today. There’s a shower in the bathroom that works.”

 

“The water won’t give me radiation poisoning?” Bellamy said teasingly. 

 

“I just showered, so no!” Raven yelled, having overheard the conversation. 

 

“Go shower. I’ll get the rover ready to go.” Clarke practically pushed him out of bed, before getting out herself and stretching her back. 

 

“Sure you don’t want to join me?” Bellamy said, winking at her. 

 

“If I stay in here any longer I think Madi might be squeezing Murphy to death.” 

 

“Why Murphy?” 

 

“She seemed to take a liking to him and Raven pretty fast.” 

 

“Clarke! You’re daughter is hugging me!” Murphy yelled, and Clarke laughed. 

 

“Told you it’d be Murphy.” Clarke said before leaving. The sight of Murphy awkwardly hugging Madi back made Clarke burst out laughing, which Murphy scowled at. 

 

“She just came up and hugged me.” Murphy whined, and Clarke rolled her eyes.

 

“Madi, stop hugging Murphy.” Clarke said. She unwinded her arms from around Murphy and turned to give Clarke a pout. 

 

“Why?” She protested. 

 

“Murphy doesn’t like hugs.” 

 

“He hugged you though.” 

 

“Clarke is the exception. And Emori.” Murphy said, smiling slightly. 

 

“So you’re saying that I….could hug you right now, and you wouldn’t be awkward about it?” Clarke confirmed. Murphy nodded, and Clarke gave him a grin. 

 

“You’re not leaving me for Murphy, are you?” Bellamy said with a tease, his arms wrapping around Clarke’s waist. 

 

“I don’t know, Murphy gives really good hugs.” Clarke replied, smirking at Bellamy. “But Emori would have to share him, so” 

 

“Having to share Murphy with you wouldn’t be _so_ bad.” Emori said, laughing. 

 

“Can we go now?” Madi interrupted.“I want to meet Octavia!” Clarke nodded, and they all piled into the Rover. Clarke had given them all rifles, the safety of the group less secure with Eligius Corporation down on the ground and their desire to be separated and not accept Madi’s or Clarke’s help when offered. They were fairly hostile to her, who knew how hostile they’d be with the 11 of them now. 

 

“Are we sure we should trust the 12 year old with a rifle?” Echo said warily.

 

“She’s a good shot. She’s been shooting rifles since she was 8 years old. Throwing spears since then too, and we’ve been sword fighting for awhile too.” Clarke said immediately. “She’s probably the best warrior there is currently.” 

 

“Except for you.” Emori declared. 

 

“Yeah, Mom’s the best warrior out there. Maybe Octavia could beat her though. I haven’t seen her fight though.” Madi agreed, her smile turning into a frown at not seeing Bellamy’s sister fight yet. She trusted Clarke, and knew that Clarke trusted Octavia-that Bellamy trusted Octavia and the whole group did. But it has been 6 years since they’ve seen each other, and there was absolutely no communication between them. At least Bellamy and Clarke had one way transmissions. There was no guarantee that Octavia was the same person, especially having been leading 1200 people and cooped up in a bunker with them for six years. 

 

“She’ll still be trustworthy, Madi.” Clarke said from the drivers seat, seeming to sense her wariness of Octavia. The next few minutes were filled with silence, before Clarke started to hum a tune. Then, they were surrounded by people, guns pointed at the car. 

 

“Bellamy?” Clarke whispered. “Care to wake Miller up?” Miller had fallen asleep, so Bellamy reached over and shook his shoulder. He pressed a finger to his lips, as Madi peeked out from a hole in the rover. 

 

“I’m going out there to talk with them.” Clarke said to all of them. 

 

“I’m coming with.” Madi said, and Clarke knew better than to argue with her. 

 

“Be ready, guys.” Clarke said, before opening the door slowly and sliding out of the Rover. 

 

“Is there a problem here?” Clarke asked calmly, gripping Madi’s hand. “Why is my rover surrounded?” 

 

“You’re coming with us.” One snapped. 

 

“Why now? I offered my help when you guys came down, and you rejected it.” 

 

“Our leader wants a word with you.” 

 

“Well, give me a few days and I’ll come by your camp, yeah? I was just going out on a trip with my daughter here, and I’d love for that to happen still.” 

 

“Now.” He said threateningly. 

 

“Madi, get in the car please.” Clarke said, and Madi scrambled into the car willingly. 

 

“I really wish there would be a truly peaceful group on earth for once.” Clarke said with a sigh. “It really is getting annoying having to fight a war every year. Personal war or actual war.” Clarke said, at their confused expressions. “But you know, I guess I can never get a break. It’ll be just the same as before, only you know, now.” Clarke said, ducking as she heard gun shots fire from within the rover. Clarke moved the bodies out of the way of the rover before climbing into the driver’s seat again, and letting out a sigh. “I’m really glad you guys all knew what to do.” She said, looking back at everyone.Clarke started the rover again, and their journey to Polis wasn’t interrupted again. Out of the corner of her eye, Clarke noticed the stack of journals inside the rover. 

 

“I brought them.” Madi explained. “I thought we could give them to Octavia or your mom.” 

 

“That sounds like a plan, Madi.” Clarke replied, smiling. She stopped the rover, seeing piles of debris littering the ground. 

 

“We need to find the door.” Clarke said. Then, they set off in pairs. Raven went with Miller, Monty and Harper went together, Murphy and Emori paired up, and Echo and Jasper decided to search together. Bellamy, Madi and Clarke all stayed together, as they moved debris to the best of their ability out of the way. 


	10. Chapter Ten

They all searched until it was time for lunch, having no luck finding the bunker. Madi was too excited to eat lunch, so she continued looking near the group, rifle hanging by the strap across her shoulders, always at the ready since the last encounter. 

 

“Mom!” Madi yelled, looking at the group. “Mom I think I found it!” She added. The group dropped their food, and rushed to Madi’s side. 

  
“You sure did, Madi.” Clarke said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer. “You ready to open it?” Madi nodded frantically, and Clarke reached for the handle, wrapping her hand firmly around it. 

 

“We should probably knock right? Doesn’t it seal from the inside?” Raven said, raising her eyebrows. Clarke nodded, and took a step back. 

 

“How are we going to knock loud enough?” Bellamy asked, grabbing Clarke’s hand.

 

“Madi, how do you feel about jumping on the door three times, and then getting off of it?” Clarke asked, and she grinned, stepping onto the door. She jumped three times, before scrambling off the door. They waited a few moments, before the door was shoved open. 

 

“Air!” The person who opened the door said, and hands appeared. They pushed their owner out of the doorway, who quickly noticed the group. 

 

“You guys are a year and two months late.” The guy said, smiling. 

 

“I was never late, but I didn’t want to go through this with only me and Madi.” Clarke retorted. “Anyways, I think you have people you need to notify.” 

 

“You guys should come down with me. Heda Octavia, Doctor Griffin, Kane,Indra and the others are all in a meeting right now trying to figure out food.” Bellamy grinned at the mention of his sister, and the group followed the person down into the bunker. He opened the door to a room, earning a scowl from the people within it.

 

“Charles, you know you’re not supposed to interrupt a meeting. And aren’t you on door duty?” Clarke’s mom scolded. 

“Who needs door duty anymore?” Clarke said, appearing next to Charles. “I thought you guys would’ve opened the door yourselves by now, considering it’s been more than five years.” 

 

“Octavia insisted we wait until you guys were down here.” Kane answered. 

 

“Well, O, I think you’ll be very happy.” Clarke said, noticing Octavia shifting in her seat. “Bell, get in the room, you doofus. All of you get in here.” The group all piled in, except for Madi. She was clearly nervous about meeting them. Charles hadn’t paid any attention to her, probably assuming she had gone up in space with them. “Madi, come on.” Clarke said gently. “They’re not going to hurt you.” Madi appeared, glueing herself to Clarke’s side as the room let out a gasp. 

 

“You’re fine, Mads. You wanted to meet Octavia anyways. She’s here.” Clarke said. 

 

“Who is this little cutie?” Abby said, looking at Clarke.

 

“You know, I was kind of expecting a reunion of hugs and kisses and crying. Not this.” Raven said, laughing. 

 

“Oh trust me, it just hasn’t sunk in yet.” Abby assured Raven. 

 

“Everyone, this is Madi. Madi, this is the people in my sketchpad. My mom, Octavia, Kane? This is them.” Madi snuggled closer to Clarke, overwhelmed. Clarke sat down on the ground, allowing Madi to curl up in her lap and hide her face in Clarke’s chest. 

 

“Did I not tell you enough Octavia stories for you to trust her?” Clarke joked, and Madi let out a laugh. 

 

“I always asked for Bellamy stories, so not your fault.” Madi mumbled. And so Clarke began to tell her a story who’s focus was Octavia, capturing the attention of everyone, including the heroine of the story. 

 

“Can you tell me a story with your mom?” Madi mumbled, looking up at Clarke hopefully. Clarke told stories that centered around everyone in that room, nobody leaving the room. 

 

“See? They’re all good people.” Clarke said. 

 

“Can you fight Octavia?” Madi asked, grinning. “I want to see who’s better.” 

 

“I would think it would be Octavia.” Kane said, laughing. “She’s Commander.” 

 

“Mom’s been sword fighting for five years. Everyday.” Madi declared with pride in her voice. 

 

“Octavia’s been fighting for seven, Madi.” Clarke said, laughing. 

 

“I haven’t been training everyday, though.” Octavia said, grinning. 

 

“I could beat you in a fight of guns. And have you been practicing your spear throwing?” 

 

“I don’t know about that.” Bellamy joked.

 

“I hit bullseyes every single time, Bell. I think I’m the best shot there is.” 

 

“I almost hit the bullseye every time, mom.” Madi complained. 

 

“How old are you?” Kane asked. 

 

“12.” Madi stated, placing her hands on her hips. 

 

“You taught a twelve year old how to shoot a rifle?” Abby scolded Clarke. 

 

“It might’ve been a barren wasteland for five years, but that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t know how to defend herself.” Clarke snapped. “She can throw a spear and sword fight too.” 

 

“Twelve year olds shouldn’t know that type of stuff.” 

 

“She’s not some regular 12 year old though. She acts older than her age.” 

 

“Still. What did she need to defend herself _from_?” 

 

“Stop it!” Madi exclaimed. “Stop getting mad at my mom for teaching me how to fight. That’s not all she taught me. She taught me how to sketch, and how to speak English, and math, and history. She’s a good mom!” Madi said loudly. 

 

“Feisty. I like it.” Octavia said, grinning. “So, Griffin. What do you think about that fight? Dr. Griffin on standby, of course.” 

 

“I’m down for it.” Clarke said, and Abby’s eyes widened. 

 

“As your mother, I forbid you.” Abby said firmly. 

 

“As a legal adult and at 24, I make my own decisions. And while I might not be in charge, I’m positive that Octavia is. And who am I to deny the Commander a battle?” 

 

“I have a suggestion.” Indra said, speaking for the first time. “If I may suggest it.” 

 

“Of course.” Octavia and Clarke said.

 

“Typically, the Commander is the best fighter of the clans. I suggest that if Clarke does prevail over Octavia, the title of Heda goes to her.” 

 

“Let’s add chancellor to that too.” Miller said, winking at Clarke. 

 

“Whoever wins becomes Commander and Chancellor.” Octavia declared. “As current Heda, I approve that.”

 

“But.” Abby started. 

 

“Don’t anger Octavia, Mom.” Clarke warned. Abby was silent. 

 

“The sooner the better, right?” Murphy said. 

 

“Yes. You have an hour to prepare.” Octavia said, and with that everyone left the room. Bellamy wrapped Clarke in a hug, squeezing her tight. 

 

“At least it’s not a fight to the death.” Raven supplied. 

 

“Raven’s got a point.” Murphy agreed. 

 

“Come here Murphy.” Clarke said with a laugh. “I think it’s time to give you a proper hug without you being all sappy because you just got down here.” Murphy laughed, hugging Clarke. 

 

“You’ve got this, Commander.” Murphy said in Clarke’s ear. 

 

“Not Heda yet, Murph.” Clarke replied. 

 

“ _yet._ ” He emphasized. “I think Octavia might go easy so she doesn’t have to lead anymore.” 

 

“In a fight? Never.” Bellamy said with a laugh. “She’s a natural born leader, just like you are, Clarke.” 

 

“Don’t act like you aren’t a natural leader either, Bell.” Clarke said, rolling her eyes. 

 

“Do you need to warm up or anything?” Monty asked. 

 

“I could do with warming up. What do you say, Madi? Help me warm myself up while intimidating Octavia with your skills?” Clarke said with a grin. With that, Charles, who had stayed behind at Octavia’s orders, led them to the place where the fight would take place. 


	11. Chapter Eleven

Clarke felt each sword available for her use, trying to see which one was the right balance for her, or at least close to it. Madi came running over, with Clarke’s sword in her hand. She had found it while exploring, and it was a good sword. Madi had hers too, and Octavia was eyeing the twelve year old with a sword. Clarke sent her a grin, and she jerked her head towards Madi, who was waiting impatiently. Clarke just winked in response, twirling the sword once in her hand and walking over to Madi. They sparred, chatting around the clang of the swords. Octavia watched them with interest, jumping back as Clarke disarmed Madi, causing the sword to clang to the ground at Octavia’s feet. 

 

“I think I’m properly warmed up now.” Clarke declared, as Madi fetched her sword. 

 

“She’s quite the fighter.” Octavia commented, walking up to Clarke. 

 

“Yeah. She’d be a good Second.” Clarke replied. 

 

“If you win, are you going to make her your Second?” 

 

“Honestly? I don’t know. She’s practically my daughter.” 

 

“You’d worry about her.” 

 

“Naturally. Though I probably would. She’s too good of a fighter to not, and she’d be complaining about it to me all the time if I didn’t. She knows how good she is.” 

 

“Anyways, I’m ready to go whenever you are.” 

 

“Let’s do this then.” Octavia nodded at the guard at the door, and he opened the door. People poured in, Bellamy and the group being the first ones in. They formed a large circle, and Bellamy pulled Clarke towards him. 

 

“I’ll still love you even if you lose.” He said, grinning. He gave Clarke a quick kiss before shoving her back into the circle, and Octavia grinned at Clarke. 

 

“I was wondering if that was ever going to happen.” She said to Clarke, and Clarke laughed. 

 

“Only took the end of the world for us to get it together and confess.” Clarke replied as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. 

 

“To make the stakes known, whoever wins this fight will take the title of Heda, as well as Chancellor.” Indra announced, and an understanding murmur came from the crowd. 

 

“Oh, Octavia.” Clarke said randomly. “How’s Lincoln?” 

 

“Good. In fact, he’s here.” Octavia said, looking over at her grounder boyfriend. Clarke grinned at him, and he waved back. 

 

“Let the fight commence!” Indra said firmly, and Octavia rushed at Clarke. Clarke avoided Octavia, sidestepping. Clarke followed with her own strike, which was parried by Octavia. The fight was a dance of sorts, both light on their feet and following each other’s leads. Eventually, Octavia decided that using two hands would be beneficial, so she shifted her grip and her strategy. Clarke tightened her grip on her single-handed sword, deciding against using both hands like Octavia. Octavia began to bring her sword down, only for Clarke to stop it with her own, pushing it up and away from her with one hand, surprising everyone. Octavia let up on the pressure, and they resumed fighting. 

  
“Murphy thought you would go easy so you could stop leading.” Clarke said, parrying yet another swing. 

 

“Never. Even if it’s you.” Octavia replied with a growl, trying another strike. Clarke saw her opportunity, dodging the blow and disarming Octavia. Her sword clattered to the ground, and Clarke gently stepped on the handle to prevent Octavia from reclaiming her sword and continuing the battle. 

 

“Heda.” Octavia said with a grin. “Chancellor.” She added, wrapping her arms around Clarke. Clarke returned the hug, letting her sword drop to the ground. 

 

“Heda Clarke.” Indra said respectively. 

 

“Told you.” Murphy said, grinning and wrapping an arm around Emori’s waist. 

 

“Yes, you did.” Clarke confirmed. 

 

“Proud of you.” Bellamy said, kissing Clarke’s temple. “Proud of you too, O.” Bellamy said, finally wrapping his sister in a hug. Clarke was wrapped in a hug by Abby, who had made sure to give her a once over to see if she had hurt anything. 

 

~~~~~

 

Clarke and the main group, along with Abby, Kane, Octavia and Lincoln, all returned to the lab. Octavia was mostly curious about the drawings that covered the floor and the walls, but Abby and Kane wanted to see how developed the Eligius Corporation was. Lincoln came simply because Octavia was coming. They were also bringing the journals back to the lab, at Octavia’s insistence. She was currently reading through them in the rover, the bumps not affecting her at all. Madi was asleep, using Bellamy as a pillow. 

 

They finally arrived at the lab, and Abby let out a small gasp at the walls and the floor. Bellamy picked Madi up, placing her in her bed immediately. Octavia was inspecting the drawing of her, a smile on her face. Clarke showed Octavia all the drawings, showing her Madi’s room despite the sleeping girl. The room was filled with scenes from her stories,but there were also drawings of Clarke’s face, detailed enough to get the light freckles that dotted her cheeks. Smaller, but still present, were drawings of the core group. 

 

“Madi drew all of these?” Octavia asked quietly. 

 

“All of them.” Clarke confirmed. “I described the scene, she drew it.” 

 

“She’s amazing. I expected nothing less, considering she learned from you.” 

 

“Come on. There’s a room I want to show you.” Clarke said, tugging Octavia out of the room. Clarke pulled her into the room that held the items she had found that survived the fire, filled with various items that belonged to grounders. Clarke didn’t want to show her the room, but rather an item she found in the room. Octavia had lost it a long time ago, and thought it was lost forever. However, Clarke found it on the ground, once the underbrush was burned away. It was a little worse for wear, but it was still recognizable. 

 

“You found all of this stuff?” Octavia said, hand running across the piles of junk. 

 

“Yeah. We picked up anything that could be of value. But come on, I kept the item in a separate part so it wouldn’t get lost within all of this stuff.” Clarke replied. She finally reached it, hand wrapping around the hilt of the old sword. “I thought you’d like it. As a way to remember the past.” Clarke said, turning around. Octavia gasped at the sight of Lincoln’s old sword, her hand reaching for it. 

 

“You found it?” 

 

“It’s a lot easier when there’s no bushes and undergrowth to block the vision.” Clarke said laughing quietly.“Madi found it and showed it to me, mostly to see if I wanted to take it back here. I recognized it, even though it was really dirty. I polished it just to make sure.” 

 

“Thank you, Clarke.” Octavia said, smiling. 

 

“Go show that to Lincoln.” Clarke suggested. Octavia nodded and scrambled out of the room, slipping past Bellamy, who was in the doorway. 

 

“Chancellor.” Bellamy greeted, bowing his head in respect. 

 

“Since when did I approve the formalities?” Clarke teased, walking up to Bellamy. She wrapped her arms around Bellamy’s neck, grinning up at him. 

 

“Never.” He mumbled, before pressing a kiss to Clarke’s lips. 


	12. Chapter Twelve

Bellamy didn’t exactly _want_ Clarke to go over to the Eligius Corporation’s camp. He saw and heard how they acted around her on the way to Polis, and he wasn’t happy that she said that she wanted to figure out just what they wanted. She had originally planned on going alone - smaller the group, the less menacing, right? But everybody vetoed that. 

 

_“No.”_ Bellamy had said immediately, Madi quickly backing him up. She eventually conceded, saying that Bellamy and Octavia could join her. Still, protests erupted from the others in the group. Murphy wanted to go, Raven wanted to go, Monty wanted to go, Jasper wanted to go, Harper wanted to go, Miller wanted to go. Emori and Echo were the only two from the group that didn’t want to go. Clarke had mad it abundantly clear from the beginning that Madi was _not_ going. It took a lot of prodding to get her to allow the whole group to go, at which Murphy hugged her again. _What was it with Murphy and hugging recently? He was getting soft on the group._

 

Finally, the group made the trek over to the camp on foot, leaving the rover back at the lab. Clarke and Octavia had knives concealed in their clothing, as a precaution. Bellamy, Miller, Murphy, and Harper all had rifles, while the others were equipped with pistols from the bunker. After around an hour, they arrived at the gates of the camp.

 

“Tell your leader that I will speak to her.” Clarke said forcefully to the guards. 

 

“We could kill you easily.” The guard said, pointing a gun at Clarke’s forehead. At that, Bellamy raised his gun and pointed it at the guard. 

 

“Are you blind?” Clarke said, laughing at the spectacle. “Killing me would take more than a _threat_. And a gun that you rely on for everything.” Clarke added. The guard was disarmed in a minute, the gun pointed at him now. 

 

“Slight recommendation. Don’t challenge the girl who’s been training to fight for six years straight. Everyday.” Raven piped up. “It’s not going to work out well for you.” 

 

“As far as you’re concerned, you are all under our jurisdiction now. You’re surrounded.” The guard snapped. Suddenly, Bellamy’s gun was knocked out of his hands, and a knife pressed to his throat. The others didn’t hesitate, all of her friends disarmed and held with a knife to their throat. All except for Octavia, who had a guard in the same position. 

 

“I really hoped for a peaceful group.” Clarke said with a sigh, and the others got her slight signal. She had no idea how many times they’d need to use that signal, but she hoped not many. “But clearly, a peaceful group would be too hard to be.” Clarke snapped, before swinging the gun around and knocking the guard out with the butt of the gun. She used the gun as a method to knock them out, until she got captured and a knife held to her neck. 

 

“Next time, make sure the person reveals all their weapons before getting them in a hold like this.” Clarke growled, pulling a knife from her jacket pocket and stabbing the person in the side, spinning out of range from the knife. They retreated, and Clarke went into the training room to let off some steam. She gathered a collection of knives, throwing them at the targets, one right after the other. 

 

“I would hate to be that target.” Kane said, leaning on the door frame. 

 

“Yeah?” Clarke said with a grunt, embedding another knife into the target. 

 

“I’m guessing the talk with the Eligius Corporation didn’t go well.” 

 

“Didn’t even talk to their leader. They tried to capture us.” Clarke picked up her sword and chucked it at the target, the blade sinking into the mattress as far as it would go. _Good thing it was a thick mattress._

 

“You thought they’d be peaceful? Since when has a group ever been peaceful?” 

 

“I would think some groups would be peaceful to us.” 

 

“We’re a threat.”  


“If we’re a _threat_ then why were they hostile to Madi and I when they first came down. How can two people be a threat?” 

 

“You knew the ground better, they didn’t know your intentions.” 

 

“I offered to help them.” Clarke groaned. Just then, Madi came scrambling into the room.

 

“Mom!” Madi said frantically. “The others went outside to do something, and now they’re not there.” Clarke didn’t say a word, only pull the knives out of the target and placing them in her jacket, swinging the sword over her back and grabbing the rifle that was leaning on the wall by the door. 

 

“You want to come, Mads?” Clarke asked, and Madi nodded, gathering her stuff. Kane looked at her disapprovingly, but didn’t try to convince Clarke to not go after them. Clarke opted to use the Rover, Madi paying attention to the surroundings as Clarke drove. 

 

“Clarke, they’re going into the camp.” Madi said frantically. Clarke reached over and pulled Madi fully into the rover, before stepping on the gas. The rover went right through the gates, and the people milling around the camp scrambled out of the way. 

 

“Hey!” Clarke yelled at the people who were dragging her friends. “Hey!” She yelled again. She pulled a knife out from her pocket, carefully aiming before letting it fly. She was standing on top of the rover, two knives in her hands. “I’m talking to you!” Clarke yelled, hopping off the rover and sprinting to get in front of the group. Bellamy looked alarmed at her appearance, his eyes wide. The injured guard was groaning in pain, hand pressed to his side. 

 

“I have plenty of knives to do that to all of you.” Clarke warned. The guard _laughed_ at her statement. Clarke didn’t hesitate, and a knife embedded itself into his side, freeing Bellamy. Bellamy rushed to Clarke’s side, and Clarke gave him the rifle. “Believe me now?” Clarke asked, flipping the knives in her hands over and over again. “I would’ve left you guys alone, had you left us alone. But nope, you have to try and kidnap us. So I apologize if I seem harsh, but that tends to happen when my people are captive.” 

 

“Surely you’re not the leader.” One snapped. This time, it wasn’t Clarke who embedded a knife into the guards side, but Octavia. The comment had came from the guard on her, and she still had the knifes from earlier. 

 

“Surely you don’t want to find out what our leader can do with her sword.” Octavia said, standing by my side. 

 

“Let my friends go, and let us return to our camp and leave us alone, and we’ll leave you alone. If you don’t let my friends go, then I’ll rescue them even more violently than I already have, and you’ll have a war you’re not prepared for.” Clarke declared. 

 

“Please. We have three hundred people, and you have 12.”

 

“Tell that to the 1200 people in the bunker right now.” Clarke replied easily. 

 

“You’d enter a war you _cannot_ win. You’re unprepared for 12 of us. And trust me when I say that the majority of them can fight like I can.” Octavia added. Then, chaos broke out and they began fighting. Madi joined the fray, disarming and knocking out guards who approached her easily. Eventually, the citizens were scrambling away from the group, and the guards were all knocked out. 

 

“Geez it’s like they want war.” Raven muttered as Clarke drove back to the lab. 

 

“If they want war they can have it.” Bellamy said with a grunt. “We’re better prepared than they are, and we have more fighters.”

  
“We need to get some semblance of a community now that we have the land to. If we’re going to enter war, we should start training soon. Make sure everyone knows how to defend themselves should the need arrive to. Figure out food for the long term, decide on a council to help decide matters.” Clarke said, pulling the rover into the garage. “But that can happen once we make sure everybody is okay.” 


	13. Chapter 13

“Attention please!” Clarke’s voice silenced the confused crowd, all eyes turning to their new commander. 

 

“We are _not_ the only ones on the earth. Before the bunker was opened, and before the space crew came back down, another ship came. Some of you may recognize the name. This group, the Eligius Corporation, is hostile.” Clarke paused for a moment to let the information sink in. The crowd shifted uneasily, waiting for Clarke to continue. “Because of this, and the threat of war, we have decided to formally make an effort to organize, outside of this bunker. We will create cabins, a medbay, a dining hall, a smoke room, a storage building, and barracks.” Clarke announced. 

 

“All able-bodied people will be learning how to fight with swords, spears, daggers, and guns.” Octavia continued. “We may outnumber them, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be prepared for the worst.” 

 

“Where will we set up camp?” Niylah said curiously. 

 

“Where Becca’s lab is,” Clarke answered easily. “It’s near the woods, has a good vantage point, and is closer to the green spot.” After answering a few more questions, Clarke dismissed them all to pack their belongings. Bellamy wrapped an arm around her waist, thumb rubbing circles on the skin above her hip. 

 

Two hours later, the group was trudging through the forest with the warriors of the tribes who were already trained keeping a look out. It took them the rest of the day to get back to Becca’s lab, and they all flowed into the space, taking in the drawings and the supplies already there. After all of them had gotten a good look at everything, they set up their sleeping bags outside, periodic guards to prevent an ambush. The original group retired to their rooms inside the lab, feet throbbing with the long trek they’ve made. 

 

~-~

 

The groups were building efficiently. There were already multiple cabins built, and the barracks were almost done. For now, they trained in the open space. Clarke and Octavia handled spears, swords and daggers. Bellamy and Miller handled teaching people how to fire a gun. Madi, despite begging to help teach the others, was helping supervise the building of the camp, beside Raven. 

 

“Watch your opponent carefully,” Clarke advised, shifting her weight to her back foot to simulate a person about to launch themselves, and her opponent immediately put her guard up. Clarke smiled, sparring for a little before wandering around the others who were practicing and giving tips. 

“Alright, you guys are done for the day!” Clarke announced. They trained in shifts, so that the camp could be built constantly. The nights were colder without the protection of the trees. Clarke waited for the next round to come, before doing the same routine with them. 

 

~-~

 

Clarke noticed the people from Eligius staying a safe distance away from their camp, but still observing them. Clarke notified everyone of course, but decided to let them see what they were up to, let them see their numbers. If they could get out of this without a war, then Clarke would go for it. 

 

“You see them too?” Bellamy commented, an arm draped across her shoulders. He jerked his chin towards the people in the trees, guns aimed at them. 

 

“I saw the scouts,” Clarke allowed. “And as long as they don’t…” The sound of gunshots cut Clarke off, and Bellamy let out a grunt of pain. Clarke followed her instincts, firing her rifle at the people in the trees. She watched as they tumbled from the branches, before being pulled back to where she was by Bellamy’s hiss of pain. 

 

“Fuck, where’d they get you?” 

 

“Stomach, they had a bad shot,” He answered, pressing a hand to the wound. 

 

“Madi!” Clarke yelled, and the young girl came running. 

 

“What happened to Bellamy, Mom?” Madi said, panicking. 

 

“Hey, I’ll tell you later, okay? Can you go get Jackson and my mom for me?” Clarke said gently, words still rushed. Madi nodded, running off. Another gunshot rang out, and Bellamy let out another grunt of pain, knees buckling. Clarke caught him, lowering both of them to the ground slowly. She tangled her fingers in his hair, tears slowly falling.Her mother came running up to them, Jackson right behind her. 

 

“Clarke, honey, what happened?” Abby asked gently. 

 

“Eligius shot him, that’s what happened!” Clarke snapped. “Save him!” Clarke ordered. “That’s an order from your chancellor and commander!” 

 

“Clarke,” Abby started. 

 

“I don’t want to hear it, Mom! The longer we sit here and you talk to me, the more Bellamy _bleeds out_. Save him _now_.” 

 

“Clarke,” She started again. 

 

“ _NOW!”_ Clarke screeched. Her mom heaved a sigh before she motioned for a stretcher to be brought over, and Clarke trailed after them into the medbay. 

 

“Someone get her out of here,” Abby demanded, and Clarke’s jaw dropped. 

 

“I’m not going anywhere!” Clarke crossed her arms over her chest, as she watched her mom inject a small amount of anesthesia into Bellamy, to lesson the pain and make him fall asleep. 

 

“Someone get her out, please,” Abby repeated. 

 

“No!” Clarke protested, as Murphy scooped her up and carried her out of the medbay. 

 

“Hey, she’s not going to let him die,” Murphy said, setting Clarke down and stopping her from returning to the medbay. 

 

“She wanted to talk to me when I was asking her to save him! _TALK_!” Clarke glared at Murphy, who just rolled his eyes. 

 

“Why would she inject him with anesthesia if she wasn’t going to save him? It’d be a waste of supplies,” Murphy pointed out. Clarke grumbled in annoyance at Murphy’s point.

 

~-~

 

“Hey, he’s out.” Raven said, poking her head into Clarke and Bellamy’s cabin. “No permanent damage other than two scars.” She added, and Clarke gave her a small smile. Clarke made a beeline to the medbay, seeing Bellamy asleep on a bed in the corner as her mom cleaned up. 

 

“He’ll be awake in an hour or so,” Abby said to Clarke, nodding at her daughter. 

 

“Thank you,” Clarke bowed her head. She pulled up a chair, taking Bellamy’s hand in her own and pressing a soft kiss to his knuckles. 

 

~-~

 

Bellamy groaned as he woke up, and Clarke scrambled to her feet. 

 

“Clarke?” He mumbled, trying to focus on the face that was hovering above his. 

 

“Hey,” She breathed out, brushing a piece of his hair behind his ear and smiling. 

 

“Did they get you?” She shook her head. 

 

“Tried their best to kill you, though.” Bellamy duly noted the throbbing pain in his chest and stomach. 

 

“Takes more than a few bullet wounds to kill me,” He joked, offering her a smile. 

 

“That it does,” She agreed, pressing a light kiss to Bellamy’s forehead. 


End file.
